Flipped

In the last couple of years, I’ve gotten in the pool in the weeks leading up to triathlons mainly because I had set race goals and needed to make sure I’d survive the water course before getting to the fun part of the race. Now I have no triathlon looming for several months, but I’m still swimming at least once a week. I like it.

Last week I swam, but didn’t feel particularly strong. I still enjoyed the water, and the stress relief of moving through it.

It’s becoming less and less of a challenge to survive from end to end. I make less breathing mistakes and concentrate more on form.

Last night I decided it was time to incorporate flip turns into my laps. Flip turns are not a necessary skill for open water swimmers, but I have a long winter of pool swims ahead. Since reading Leana’s flip description I’ve tried to flip once or twice per swim session, but last night I flipped about 50% of my turns. Out of those, I estimate 50% again looked and felt successful.

All of my flips still feel like they’re in very slow motion, and for many of them I get totally discombobulated, but I’m learning to keep my eyes open and remember which way is up. I whacked my ankle bone against the top edge of the pool once. Ouch. Didn’t do that again.

When I flipped in a way that felt good, I flew to the other end to do it again. When my flip didn’t turn out so well, I still hurried to the other end to redeem myself with a better one. My laps became less of a long slog between ends and more of a short interval between the challenges of flipping. I also had the added benefit of not being tempted to rest at each end, so I swam more continuously throughout the 50 minutes in the pool.

I toyed around with flippers, a flutter board and one of those peanut-shaped leg float thingies in between regular laps. I’m looking forward to next week.